Rotary engine



(No Model.)

W. H. WIGMOREQ Rotary Engine.

No. 243,420. Patented June 28,1881.

ZIIIIIE llIi illllli wabzwses. e/ zrenior.

u, PETERS, mume n im. Wamhg'un, n. a

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIeE.

.WILLIAM H. WIGMORE, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

ROTARY ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 243,420, dated June 28, 1881.

7 Application filed April 4, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. WIGMORE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Rotary Steam-Engines, of which the following is a specification. My invention relates to that class ofrotary engines in which a revolving drum provided with one or more fiat pistons revolves in a cylinder of greater diameter, whereby a steamchamber is formed between the drum and the internal face ot'the cylinder; and my invention, which is especially adapted to marine engines, is as follows: The engine is adapted to run in either-direction by means of a reciprocating valve, operated by means hereinafter described, the valve having a partial turn back and forth, whereby it is caused to open and close one port connected with a pipe leading from the steam-chest, in which the valve is situated, and exhausts the steam through another port communicating with another pipe into the opposite side of the steam-chest, whence it passes through the exhaust-pipes, so as to run the engine in one direction. To run it in the opposite direction the motion of the valve is re.- versed, whereby the pipe which fed the steam into the cylinder becomes the eXhaust' pi-pe from the inletport, and the other pipeconnected with the before-mentioned exhaust-port becomes the feed-pipe, as hereinafter fully described. The piston is combined with a recess in the revolving drum, and has a friction-roller,

which is permitted to roll in a corresponding recess in the extreme end, to avoid friction in the operation of the piston, the roller being pressed against the interior face of the cylinder by a suitable springor springs. The steamcylinder is provided with a plate-spring about midway between its ports, at its abutment side, to act as a packing to prevent the escape of steam. In order to admit of a free exhaust of vertical section at the broken line a: w of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detail view of the sector H, ec=

centric G, eccentric-strap G, and rod G detached from the engine. Fig. 4 is an edge view of the'eccentric-strap G and rod G. Fig. .5 is a horizontal section of the steam-cylinder A, from beneath the line y y, and sections of the housings B B. Fig.6 is a side view ofthe valve F and its shaft h. Fig. 7 is a cross-section at the line 2 z of Fig. (i. Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the piston D.

Like'letters of reference in all the figures indicate the same parts.

A represents the steam-cylinder of my improved engine, and BB the housings, between which it is fastened by means of screw-bolts.

U is a revolving drum, having a piston, D, which-is shown in detail in Fig. 8. The piston is provided with a friction-roller, a, in its outer end, which is pushed into the circular chamber I) before the connection of the piston with the the chamber being somewhat more than a halfcircle, for the purpose of holding the roller securelyin place. The pistonhas chambers c 0, each of which is provided with a spring, d, for pressing the roller sufliciently tight upon the interior surface of the cylinder A to prevent the passage of steam at the points of contact as the drum 0 revolves. The cylinder A has an abutment, z, of semi-elliptical form, so as to make a smooth and regular connection with the concentric part 2. I do not, however, confine myself to making the cylinder in such form, as it may be made concentric all around and answer the purpose.

E is a cylindrical steam-chest, which is confined by means of bolts, as shown in the drawin gs, to the housings B B, above the cylinderA. Itis provided with afeed-pipe, f, and with pipes g and 9, through one of which the steam is introduced into the cylinder A when the engine is run in a certain direction, the opposite pipe at that time serving to exhaust the steam from the cylinder; and when the engine is required to be run in the reverse direction the functions of these pipes are reversed. The direction of the steam into the cylinder is regulated and controlled by means of the partially-rotating reciprocating valve F, which has a recess, 4", in one side, through which the steam passes to the cylinder, and asimilar recess, 1'', through which it passes into the exhaust-pipe after drum, as it has to be brought therein endwise,

leaving the said recess r, it being always open to the exhaust-pipe when the engine is run in either direction. The valve F is operated by means of the connection of its shaft hwith the shafti' of the drum 0, there being an eccentric, G, on said shaft 41, provided with a strap, G, having a rod, G which is connected with the sector H on said shaft h of the valve, as hereinafter described. K Vhen the engine has to be run in the direction of the arrows the valve has its recess 1" open to the feed-pipe f, whereby the steam passes through the pipe g into the cylinder, as represented in Fig. 2, in which case the pipe 9 serves to exhaust the steam.

To insure accuracy in the working of the valve E the slot lof the sector H has recesses 11., 'n, and of, into each of which, at the proper time respectively, the lug 0 on one edge of the eccentric-rod G is forced (to keep the rod into positive connection with the sector) by means of the spring p, the heel of which is fastened to the rod, and the resilient end bearing against the outer edge of said slot Z.

To prevent the escape of steam there is a spring, I, placed in arecess of abutmentz, about midway between the ports 1 2, the spring acting as a packing at that point to prevent the escape of steam. There are narrow recesses q q, commencing at the ports 1 2 and extending to about the spring I, to admit of a free passage of steam through the ports, which may be collected in front of the piston.

The operation is as follows: The connectingrod G2 being eonnectedwith the end 1 of the slot 1 of the sector H, as shown in Fig. 2, and the drum 0 running in the direction of the arrows, and the pistonD having passed the port 1, as represented, the valve is changed in its position by the movement of the sector H, by the means above described, by the time the piston has reached the point 00, so as to close the inlet-opening of the pipe 9, the valve assuming the position represented by dotted lines, for the purpose of using the steam expansively, until the piston has reached the port 2. By the time the piston has again passed the port 1 the valve F has assumed its former position. (Represented in the drawings.) As the exhausts are always open, owing to the recess 'I" in the rear side of the valve F having an open communication therewith, any steam or air in front of the piston is discharged freely, flowing out through the ports, and thereby back-pressure on the piston is avoided. When the engine is to be run in the reverse direction the connecting-rod of the eccentricis connected by means of its lug 0 with the notch n in the sector, and for stopping its motion with the notch n.

I claim as my invention 1. In a rotary engine, the combination of the partially-rotating reversing-valve F, having recesses 7' and i" in opposite sides, with the steam-chest E, having a feed-pipe,f, communieating directly by means of the recess 4" with the cylinder A through one of said pipes, the steam-chest being also provided with an exhaust-pipe, 9 the recess 4* leaving the exhaust always open, substantially as described.

2. The combination of the eccentric G, strap G, rod G having a lug, 0, and the sector H, having a slot, Z, provided with notches n, n, and n with the shaft 2' of the drum C, and the shaft h of the valve F, for opening and closing the communication between the steam-chest E and cylinder A, whereby to run the engine in either direction, substantially as described.

WILLIAM H. WIGMORE.

Witnesses:

STEPHEN Us'rIcK, THOMAS J. BEWLEY. 

